Germany's Federal Cartel Office Thursday said it has launched market abuse control proceedings against unnamed companies in the electric heating sector in order to "examine price structures in the supply of consumers with electricity for night storage heating and electric heat pumps."
In a written statement, the cartel office said the market is defined by a lack of competition, adding that "there are virtually no alternative suppliers in this market and hence no possibility for customers to switch their supplier."
A spokesman for the cartel office declined to name any of the companies being probed, citing the principle of "presumption of innocence." He added that all the affected companies, which are predominantly based in southern and western Germany, have been notified of the proceedings.
The companies being investigated, as well as five competitors with lower prices, have been asked to submit documentation regarding prices, or profits, of their electricity heating business.
"The proceedings are being conducted based on the so-called comparative market concept by which the prices, or profits, of the electricity heating suppliers are compared," the watchdog said.
The German electricity heating market is relatively small. Some 2.2 million households, or around 4% of the entire market, heat their homes with electricity, the cartel office said.
It added that the companies being investigated supply around 700,000 customers with electric heating. The five competitors that have been asked to supply comparative data supply around 500,000 households, the cartel office said.